Sammy, have you tried That Home Site! which is part of Garden Web? It has a pet forum, a health one, cleaning tips, marriage,food, etc, etc. Every once once in a while, I go there to read them. Other than that, I have not liked the other forums I have found. Try the link, go toward the bottom of the page. I hope it works for you.
Kathy

Here is a link that might be useful: That Home Site!

Hi Kathy, yes, I belong to that one, and do enjoy some of them, but the health forum isn't too specific, and there are not that many people.

I didn't like the Pet one at first, but then I realized that only a few people were disagreeable. At one point someone told me to put down my bitter apple spray and use some good advice that I had received. They were becoming increasingly arrogant and rude. Then as a response to a particular poster, someone else said what most of us wanted to say. It was not deleted either - surprise. We would never get by with that here.

Maybe some of the others can recommend good forums. My attempts have made me appreciate this one more.

Also I don't need another flower or Rose one, just health and pets.

Sammy

Have you used specific search functions on yahoo groups and on google groups?
Sometimes there will be a mention of a less search-crawled site on the more referenced sites.
RE the Golden Retrievers, if there isn't a site, perhaps the national club would be interested in starting one.

There must be at least one good Golden forum out there. Most of the forums I'm on are dog-related -- either breed-specific (a different breed) or training-related. There are literally thousands of pet-related forums at Yahoo. If you do a group search at the main groups page and search "Golden Retriever" you will get a ton of hits and can poke around to see if any look appealing. Personally, I'd look for one directed toward pet owners, NOT breeders and not primarily people into showing or trialling. I can almost guarantee that there will be separate Golden-specific forums for people who meat-hunt, people who field-trial, people who hunt-test, people who show in conformation, people who show in obedience, people who show in agility, people who track, people who live in specific geographic areas, people whose dogs have specific health problems or all breed-specific health problems, etc etc. Check it out. The main challenge will be not getting overwhelmed with the choices.

By the way... I have no idea what advice you received, but I agree that it's very likely that Bitter Apple is not a good answer other than for its intended use (spraying on the dog's injury, or on household stuff, to prevent chewing on it). And people tend to be very opinionated about this stuff, and extra passionate if they think you are harming an animal. So, you have to put up with a certain amount of passion and perhaps rudeness if you want to be on a pet forum. I'm on 30 of 'em, so I'm pretty familiar with the phenomenon. :) Try to slough it off and "use what you need and leave the rest."

Nickelsmumz, I wil try again. I belong to a huge Yahoo group, and I looked at others. I only tried golden retriever, and also pets. One that is huge is dominated by one person who "has the answers". Before you post, you have the check the searches, and attach your post to one that closely resembles a post that is there. That is efficient, but if you make a mistake like I did, and like some others have done, he tells you off. I am too old for that.

I also tried the google groups. I used to be on one that was like Luv4goldens. I cannot find it. I have separated the words, changed the spelling, and cannot find it. It probably merged with another group.

I can read about health things in magazines, but have been interested in what people say also. Osteoporosis hits women who are short and caucasian. The official sites only state the facts. Many forums have women who bring in other issues. One I used to be on suggested many things like lifting free weights while standing, and jumping. I cannot seem to find groups that will fully discuss how to actively prevent these conditions. Every site at the bottom seems to be sponsored by a drug, a hospital, or a doctor's clinic. Many are herbal or natural foods.

Sammy

Sammy, try searching for the ouch couch, there's another that deals with head related pain although I can't remember the name. My 2nd hard drive with that info is unplugged right now, so I can't access my documents. Email me from my member page, when the drive is available I'll email you the link.

I googled the name of the person that gave me the link - it's called brain talk